Latest fee increase irks CSUB students
Bakersfield Californian 3/16/07
Since 2002, what they pay to go to school has gone up 76 percent.
The system's board of trustees raised student fees by 10 percent for the 2007-08 school year Wednesday.
One Bakersfield student wondered how the fee increase would help the campus.
"We don't see where the money's going, basically," said Teresa Moreno, a junior psychology major.
"How's it benefiting the teachers and the students?"
Another student said fees always seem to go up.
"It's not like the stock market," said music major Katie Moyes. "The stock market goes up and down."
Her parents help her with college costs -- she wouldn't be able to go to school without their financial assistance.
Business administration major Dawn Caudill said fees have been increasing "even before I started here."
She worried higher costs could discourage students from going to college.
State support and student fees provide the 23-campus system with operating revenue.
"If the state doesn't provide the money, the only other way the CSU can generate revenue is to increase student fees," said Ken Beurmann, student body president at Cal State Bakersfield.
"It seems the state of California isn't making education their top priority."
Here's how the 10 percent fee increase will hit full-time students' wallets:
* Undergraduates taking 6.1 or more units will pay an additional $252, bringing their fees to $2,772 for the year
* Qualified credential participants will pay an extra $294, or $3,216
* Other post-baccalaureate and graduate students will pay $312 more, or $3,414
At Cal State Bakersfield, students must pay about $300 in other campus fees.
The 10 percent increase will generate $97 million in revenue for the system, said spokeswoman Clara Potes-Fellow.
About one-third of that amount will be used to provide state university grants -- free money -- for students. That means 146,000 students will not feel the impact of the fee increase, she said.
Before voting on the increase, trustees discussed the importance of giving students advance notice about them.
Beurmann said the lead time will help students plan so they can save money to pay for school during the summer.
It's possible the 10 percent fee increase for the CSU may change, however.
CSU officials will continue to work with the Legislature, state Department of Finance and the governor's office to offset the fee increase through additional funding.
"The CSU trustees made the commitment ... that they will repeal the fee increase by an equal amount that is provided by the state," Potes-Fellow said.
The state Legislature and the governor would need to provide an additional $62.5 million to eliminate the fee increase, according to the CSU.
Bakersfield freshman Anthony Vickery compared increased school fees to another consumer product.
"Soon, it's going to be more out of control than gas prices," he said.